Neeraj, who is considered close to Nitish Kumar, said the JD-U enjoys support of people in the state.

JD-U MP Ali Anwar Ansari said: "Bihar does not need Modi at all. We won two assembly polls in 2005 and 2010 and one Lok Sabha elections in 2009 under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, minus Modi."

Rudy had claimed that most JD-U workers and leaders in Bihar privately admit that they need Modi. "JD-U workers admit openly that they require Modi to improve the party's poll prospects in the elections," he said.

"There is little doubt that Modi's service is required by the BJP and by the JD-U in Bihar," the BJP general secretary added.

Nitish Kumar had earlier raised objection to his photographs being published alongside Modi's in newspaper advertisements during the BJP's national executive.

The Bihar chief minister had also persuaded the BJP leadership agaist inviting Modi to campaign in the 2009 Bihar assembly polls and in the 2010 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD-U is one of the oldest ally of the BJP in the National Democratic Alliance. Nitish Kumar has repeatedly made it clear that he would not accept the BJP's leadership in a national coalition if Modi was chosen as its prime ministerial candidate.

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